Protests and rallies were held throughout Connecticut on Wednesday, marking May Day or International Workers Day. At two rallies, one in Hartford and another in Middletown, people gathered to advocate for labor in Connecticut and abroad.
In Hartford, Make the Road Connecticut brought together 13 coalitions from diverse backgrounds. May Day is a time to celebrate and lift the needs of every kind of laborer, said Giselle Chavez, an organizer.
“These are workers like restaurant workers, construction workers, retail workers, hospitality, food service, basically, any worker that are here and fight as everybody does. This is their day," Chavez said.
From advocating for health care access through initiatives like HUSKY 4 Immigrants to fighting for eviction protections, organizers said the rally amplifies the voices of those often marginalized in the workforce.
Working on state and federal policies is important to providing pathways to legal work in the U.S. and to citizenship, said Sara Swetzoff, a community organizer at Make the Road. Swetzoff emphasized focusing on policies at the state and federal level would enable more people to work legally in the U.S. through asylum or other pathways to citizenship.
“That would include, also, immigrants or asylees from Palestine,” Swetzoff said.
In Middletown, a rally organized by the Faculty for Justice in Palestine at Wesleyan University voiced support for workers' rights. Drawing from the Black radical tradition and principles of nonviolent civil disobedience, Garry James Bertholf, an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies, said May Day is about global collective action in pursuing justice and peace.
“I think it's important for us to figure out ways to pry loose resources to support people that are living in precarious and vulnerable situations in Gaza,” Bertholf said.
Batya Kline, a graduate student and member organizer of the Palestinian support group at Wesleyan University, emphasized the need to raise awareness about the challenges faced by workers in Connecticut and Gaza, and called for solidarity.
“How many billions of dollars have to go over there to commit genocide when the people in our community are starving or unable to find good jobs?" Kline said. "Why can't we reinvest that money in our communities?"
